Memories of Ahyumi
by Lady-Kossarie
Summary: Kaede Rukawa hasn't dated anyone since his girlfriend died of leukemia. He can't even look at another girl without thinking of his beloved Ahyumi, one of the richest kid in Japan. How can he ever love another girl after Ahyumi?
1. Remembering Ahyumi

MEMORIES

"Afarid?" Kaede sputtered. "Why should I be afraid?"

"I don't know," Kourinne said. "Maybe you're afraid of what people will think about your dating someone new."

Kaede got up, his fists clenched in anger. "That's crazy."

"Is it?" Kourinne replied. "I think you're terrified of what Aijana will say if you start seeing someone new."

"Kourinne!" Serika exclaimed, shocked.

"I don't care what Aijana says," Kaede spat out. "I can do whatever I want!"

"Then why do you keep avoiding Kari now, after you've had some good times together?"

Kaede slammed his fist on the counter. "I've told you, Rin, stay out of it. I'll live my life the way I want."

"OK," Kourinne said. "But remember—Kira's got one advantage over Ahyumi. She's alive."

* * *

ONE

"Kaede! What's wrong?"

Hiro Rukawa looked up from the book he was reading as his son streaked by the master bedroom. Then came the sound of Kaede's bedroom door closing with an angry slam.

Yuna Rukawa gave her husband a puzzled look. "What do you think could be the matter?"

Hiro Rukawa and his eighteen-year-old son were both tall and had the same dark hair and eyes. Right now Mr. Rukawa wore the same troubled expression that Kaede had been wearing on and off for weeks. "I don't know," he answered, rubbing his forehead. "Kaede has been so much better lately. I was sure he was beginning to let go of Ahyumi's memory. I hope that's not the problem."

But that was the problem. Kaede had forgotten about Ahyumi Haneoka, at least for a while, and now, as he lay staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom, he felt horrible about it. Memories of Ahyumi, his beautiful girlfriend with her halo of strawberry blond hair and her shining blue eyes, washed over him. Death had taken Ahyumi from Kaede several months ago, but he had vowed always to keep her in his heart.

In spite of his family's love and support, Kaede had mourned for weeks following Ahyumi's death. Lately he had begun to recover from his depression, though Ahyumi was always in his thoughts. His sister Kourinne kept offering to fix him up with dates, and his friends were always telling him he shuold get out more, but that weekend had been the first time he had felt like being with people.

He had agreed to go to a party that Hikari Park was throwing. Hikari went to school with her twin sisters, Kourinne and Serika. He had called up Ahyumi's older sister, Aijana, and asked her and her boyfriend, Akira Sendoh, to come along.

Tha Parks were one of the welthiest families, and any party held at their estate was an event. To his amazement, Kaede had actually begun to have a good time. This was not because of the lavish surroundings, but because of Kourinne's friend Kaminari Nakajima, who had made sure Kaede enjoyed himself. Kourinne had once fixed up Kari and Kaede, and the evening had ended disastrously. Then, the afternoon of the party, Kaede had run into Kira and discovered she, too, had been having problems and that she had changed. That night at the party Kira had made Kaede relax and smile.

That changed suddenly when Kira and Kaede were dancing. Aijana Haneoka left Sendoh at the buffet and went up to Kaede. Kaede and Aijana had been finding comfort in each other's company since Ahyumi's death, but Aijana's eyes were blazing.

"Having a good time, i see." she commented icily.

"Yeah, it's a nice party," Kaede had answered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"I'm surprised at you, Kaede." Aijana lashed out, her voice shaking with anger. "I thought you really loved my sister. But the minute another girl starts looking at you, you forget about all about Ahyumi!"

Kaede felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. He didn't know how to respond to Aijana's accusation. Before Aijana could say another word, Kaede had rushed off the dance floor and raced to his car, without bothering to say goodbye to Kira.

Now, lying in the dark, he could see that Aijana had been right. Why should he be out enjoying himself when his beloved Ahyumi was gone? Tears welled up in Kaede's eyes, and he turned his face toward the wall.

_I may have betrayed Ahyumi's memory once,_ he told himself, _but i will never, ever do it again! _


	2. Hating Aijana

"So Mitsui's back in town. No wonder you're wearing that big smile this morning," Mrs. Rukawa teased.

"Yup, we'll have the whole day together," Serika said happily.

Unknown to Serika, Hisashi Mitsui, her longtime boyfriend, who had moved to Hong Kong a few weeks earlier, had come back to Japan to take care of some of his father's unfinished business. Mitsui had surprised Serika the previous evening by showing up unannounced at Hikari Park's party. But when Mitsui had spotted Serika dancing with another boy, he'd assumed she'd forgotten all about their relationship. His feelings crushed, he'd left the party in a hurry. Luckily, Serika had managed to find Mitsui and clear up the misunderstanding. It was Mitsui and Mitsui alone whom she loved. Now Serika was looking forward to the precious hours she and Mitsui would spend together before he flew homw the following morning.

Mrs. Rukawa brought thelasagna she had just baked to the table and shifted her gaze to Kourinne. Even after seventeen years of looking at them, Yuna Rukawa was sometimes still surprisedat just how identical her pretty twins were. They shared the same sunshine-kissed golden hair and blue-green eyes, and except for a small mole on Serika's right shoulder, their five-foot-eight-inch frames were absolutely identical. But the girls' similarities ended with their looks. In personality, they were quite opposite. Serika was calm and steady, while the tempestuous and often conniveing Kourinne was like a firecracker waiting to go off. Right now her eyes were blazing as she described the previous night's events.

"After Kaede got home from the party and went upstairs," Kourinne said dramatically, "Hikari called to tell me that Aijana Haneoka made a big scene for showing too much interest in Kira."

"She did?" Mrs. Rukawa asked with surprised. "That doesn't sound like Aijana."

"I think it sounds like her," Kourinne interjected. "I don't know why Kaede even bothers to talk to her."

"They're friends," Serika answered.

"I'ts embarrassing," Kourinne said distastefully. "I can't believe she's a daughter of a well-known millionaire here in Japan."

When Kaede was feeling low, Aijana was often the only person he could bear to be around, and he always seemed happier after they'd spent some time together. The older Rukawas and Serika felt Kaede and Aijana geve each other a valuable support. But Kourinne saw things differently. She thought Aijana Haneoka was a depressing reminder of her sister and that her friendship was prolonging Kaede's misery.

"Where is Kaede this morning?" Mr. Rukawa asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"I called him down to breakfast," his wife answered, "but he said he wasn't hungry, so I let him sleep. He really should eat something."

Kourinne dropped the slice of toast she was buttering. "I'll go up and get him," she said eagerly.

"I suppose you could give it a try," Mrs. Rukawa said.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll get him down. He won't ba able to resist me," she joked. "No man can." she gave the group a little wink and flounced out of the room.

"Sometimes I wish I had Kourinne's attitude towards boys," Serika said, sighing. She stirred some honey into her tea.

"I thought you'd worked things out with Mitsui," her mother said with concern.

"Oh, we did. It's just that so hard for us to be apart." Now that she and Mitsui are separated, Serika knew what she had to look forward to in the coming months: letters, cards, and phone calls. But calls and letters were hardly the same as sharing kisses and seeing each other every day. In many ways, without Mitsui, Serika was as lost and lonely as her brother. Although she and Mitsui had agreed to try to forge new lives for themselves, Serika knew it was going to be hard.

"Mission accomplished," Kourinne said smugly as she came back into the dining table. "Kaede said he would be right down." Just as Kourinne was about to join the others at the table, the front door bell pealed. The family looked at one another with surprise. The Rukawas did not usually have visitors so early in the morning.

"Maybe it's a delivery boy for me," Mrs. Rukawa said.

The bell chimed again. "Well, I'm up. I guess I'll get it," Kourinne said, dashing toward the door before their helper could open it. A few moments later she returned with a sour expression on her face and Aijana Haneoka in tow.

"Aijana, what a nicesurprise," Mr. Rukawa said cheerfully.

"Won't you join us for some breakfast?" Mrs. Rukawa asked, gesturing toward an empty chair.

"Sure, there's plenty," Serika added, trying to make up for her sister's obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Thanks, everyone, but I don't think I'll be staying that long. Kaede called me about a half hour ago and asked me to meet him here."

Kourinne caught her sister's gaze and looked away quickly. It was obvious that it wasn't her powers of persuasion that had gotten Kaede out of bed.

"Here he is now," Aijana said, hearing his footsteps on the stairs.

Kaede lumbered into the room. Dark circles under his eyes clearly showed how little sleep he had gooten the night before. " 'Morning, everybody." he said softly.

Mrs. Rukawa asked her son and Aijana if they wanted tosomething to eat.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I'm just not hungry," Kaede replied in a low voice.

Kourinne went to the refrigerator, pulled out a pitcher and squeezed orange juice, puored some into the glass, and handed it to Kaede. "Here, at least have some juice. You look like you could use it."

Kaede smiled ruefully. "I guess I can't turn down an offer like that."

"What about you, Aijana?" Serika asked pointedly. She was growing furious with her sister. No matter how much Aijana had upset Kaede the previous night, there was no reason to be intentionally rude to her.

"No, thanks," Aijana said, watching Kaede finish his juice and place the empty glass on the table. "I think we're ready to go."

"Bye, everyone," Kaede said, placing his hand lightly on Aijana's back and steering her toward the door. "See you later."

Serika watched them disappear down th hall. "Well, what do you make of that?" she said a moment later.

"He certainly didn't seem angry with her." Mr. Rukawa commented.

Kourinne sat back down at the table and gave her plate a look of disgust. "Thanks to Aijana Haneoka, my food is cold now."


End file.
